The University of North Carolina at Pembroke wants to help more students become science and math teachers.
The university is launching an undergraduate pipeline program that will offer free tuition to students pursuing degrees in science or math who pledge to teach in public schools for at least two years post-graduation.
The Burroughs Wellcome Fund, a Durham-based private foundation that works to further science education and research, is giving UNC Pembroke $320,000 for the program.
Prospective students must agree to teach in one of the university’s partnering school districts: Public Schools of Robeson County, Scotland County Schools, Whiteville City Schools, Sampson County Schools, and Columbus County Schools.
The program’s goal is to ease a shortage of teachers in STEM, which stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.
“This helps us to really focus on the issue here,” said Tracy Mulvaney, dean of the university’s School of Education. “We’re cultivating talent from within this region and preparing our students to serve where they are needed most.”
Rural counties often struggle to recruit teachers, who can typically earn more money in urban districts. STEM teachers can be particularly hard to find.
North Carolina has about 1,370 teacher vacancies in core subjects, including math, language arts, science and social studies, according to a March report by the N.C. Department of Public Instruction. The state has struggled to find enough qualified educators to teach math and elementary grades, the report says.
Mulvaney hopes the program at UNC Pembroke will reduce financial and academic barriers for students interested in becoming teachers.
“It’s not the same profession in terms of reverence and respect that it used to be,” Mulvaney said of teaching. “Those are all the kinds of barriers that people who want to go into teaching experience. They’re particularly glaring in these rural communities because they don’t have the infrastructure support services, shopping amenities that would attract teachers to the communities if they’re not from those communities.”
Students admitted into the program will not have to pay for tuition, fees, books, housing, food and required coursework materials.
Mulvaney said she wants aspiring STEM students early in their careers to have an opportunity to serve surrounding school districts.
UNC Pembroke has deep roots in educating teachers. The university was founded in 1887 as the Croatan Normal School, which the state created to train Native American public school teachers.
Nearly 140 years later, UNC Pembroke remains the only historically American Indian university in the state and has been ranked as one of the most diverse schools in the South by U.S. News & World Report. About 38% of students are white, 29% are Black, 13% are Native Indian, and 9% are Hispanic or Latino, according to the university.
“We have deep, deep partnerships with our local districts that ensure that preparation is aligned to their needs to the real workforce needs,” Mulvaney said. “They learn alongside experienced educators in the same districts, where they will eventually teach. When you do that, that creates a seamless transition from preparation to practice.”